Astronaut Aldrin plans space travel lottery

http://news.com.com/Astronaut+Aldrin+plans+space+travel+lottery/2100-11397_3-6177102.html

Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, announced plans Tuesday for a lottery that would send its winner into space in a bid to spread the dream of extraterrestrial travel beyond the super-wealthy.

Aldrin, who followed U.S. astronaut Neil Armstrong onto the moon in July 1969, said the lottery would be run through his ShareSpace Foundation, which he set up to promote interest in science and space travel in schools.

Details of the competition are still sketchy, Aldrin said at a space investment conference on Wall Street on Tuesday, with the legal status of selling lottery tickets still to be resolved.

He said the idea was to offer the top prize of a flight into earth's orbit, but it was not yet decided on what spacecraft.

Aldrin added that the winner would have to be over 18 years old and in good physical condition. The prize would not be transferable or salable on eBay.

Currently aboard the International Space Station is Charles Simonyi, the fifth so-called space tourist. Simonyi made his fortune by helping create the Word and Excel software applications for Microsoft.